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Author: Jbailez

This past weekend, I was accepted into my dream school, FIT. FIT, the Fashion Institute of Technology, is a State University of New York (SUNY) college of art, business, design, mass communication, and technology connected to the fashion industry, with an campus located on West 27th Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. I have wanted to attend FIT since I was a kid. The school offered me the ability to combine my two loves: art and business. I believe the time I have spent at Genesee Community College is the reason why I was able to get into FIT.

I started my studies here, at GCC, for a variety of reasons. Community college presents a truly remarkable opportunity to enter higher education. With the cost of tuition at an all-time high, I turned to Genesee Community College to save money for a year and a half, and then transfer to FIT. I attended a small high school, which had small class sizes and GCC offers the smaller class sizes that I was used to. Smaller class sizes allows for more personalized instruction which was so important to me. GCC also has one of the only fashion merchandising associate programs in the country. I really wanted to go to school for fashion merchandising and GCC was the perfect place for me to continue my education and save money.

GCC has been an incredible place for me to start. I was able to participate in a variety of events, such as the Scholar’s Symposium, the Buffalo Niagara Sales and Marketing Day, the 35h Annual Fashion Show, and so much more. I have had professors who have taught and pushed me to strive for excellence inside and outside of the classroom. I have had the wonderful opportunity to have Professor Dudkowski as my mentor for this past year and a half. He is full of wonderful quotes (“It takes guts to leave the ruts”) and he is always there no matter what to help you succeed. I have made some of the most amazing friends here at GCC. These are friends who continually surprise and inspire me every day. I am thankful for these friends, professors, and GCC employees who have made my Genesee Community College experience a great one.

I will be attending FIT, in January, for Advertising and Marketing Communications.

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While on the annual GCC fashion trip to NYC we were able to meet with alumni, Connor deGuehery, from Tommy Hilfiger. We were able to look at the Tommy Hilfiger store, on 5th Ave, find out what really goes on behind the scenes of planning and putting together each floor.

In our fashion buying class, we got the opportunity to watch a video of Tommy Hilfiger being interviewed and introducing us to his book, An American Dreamer: My Life in Fashion and Business. Tommy informed everyone of how he started out struggling in high school with his grades and concentrating on schoolwork, but transformed into a hardworking, successful ,businessman. Fashion is his purpose for the world.

Some of the highlights that stood out to me from this video were that the company is in the process of adding new technologies within the business and they are quickly changing the rules of the fashion world. They now are working with a new concept where you can buy their clothing with a touch of the screen in the store. You are able to get that quick, and efficient order while still getting that shopping experience that allows you to touch and try on the pieces. This allows the customer to purchase an item, but walk away hands-free! Also, for the first time in fashion history, the Tommy Hilfiger company is looking to change the whole fashion calendar. They are taking the newest designs on the runway, and selling them instantly, no more waiting! This concept is called See Now, Buy Now.This could potentially be a whole new approach for brands. I think it will positively impact the fashion industry in that more people will want to buy the product, increasing sales.

Tommy Hilfiger also grew up in a small town right near GCC and the town, Batavia NY. He grew up and had his first small boutique in Elmira, NY; just under two hours away from our college. It would be a honor to have Tommy come back to Western New York and speak with all our fashion students. That would be such a memorable experience for our college and every fashion student. We are constantly keeping up with the latest news within the Tommy Hilfiger company, as we have alumni a part of it, and are very interested in this ever growing company!

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Greetings from NYC! We leave to go back to Batavia tomorrow morning, but today we had a delightful day in the city. Our first stop of the day was the opportunity to visit LIM college. Our second meeting of the day was with GCC Alum, Samantha, at her place of business, Brandlink Communications. It was wonderful to connect with Samantha and to see how far she has come since attending GCC. This evening we were guests of David Zyla at the National Arts Club to see a presentation on Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. The presentation was spectacular and informative. In the coming weeks, I will be posting more in depth on each of the wonderful places we were able to visit. All of us in the GCC fashion program want to thank the individuals who were willing to take time out of their day to meet with us. We cannot thank you enough. Be sure to follow us on Instagram, @trendy.gcc, on Twitter, @trendygcc, and on Snapchat, @trendygcc.

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Hello everyone! Day 2 in New York City started off right with a visit to the Gitman Brothers Showroom. After Gitman Brothers, we headed to the Tommy Hilfiger flagship store, on 5th Ave, to have a tour of the store from GCC Fashion Program Alum, Connor. Following Tommy, we headed to the fashion forecasting giant, The Doneger Group. It was an amazing day and in the coming weeks I will be posting more in depth on each of the wonderful places we were able to visit. All of us in the GCC fashion program want to thank the individuals who were willing to take time out of their day to meet with us. We cannot thank you enough. Be sure to follow us on Instagram, @trendy.gcc, on Twitter, @trendygcc, and on Snapchat, @trendygcc.

Hello from NYC! Today, Professor Dudkowski and Professor Ehrhart’s Fashion Business students embarked on the annual trip to NYC. We left Batavia at 7:30 am and arrived at our hotel in NYC at 2:30 pm. After we arrived at our hotel, we had the opportunity to go off on our own and explore the city. I had the opportunity, along with fellow students, Kourtney Shearer and Mariah Paddock, to visit with GCC Fashion Program Alum, Hailey Rizzo. We were able to interview Hailey for our Instagram account so be sure to check it out. It was a fabulous day and we have more adventures tomorrow

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A wedding dress symbolizes new beginnings and I want to be the individual who makes that new beginning happen. My name is Kourtney Shearer and I am a Fashion Business student currently in my second year here at GCC. Bridal is something that has always stood out to me in the fashion world and I plan on working in the bridal industry when I finish my schooling. I love the fact that a wedding dress has so much meaning on a day people say, is one of the most magical and significant days of your life. I believe in helping people find their dream dress, the dress they have been dreaming about since they were little. Seeing the happiness on their face and the awe from the family is something so special and I would feel honored to witness something so special. With that being said, I am going to be the scene coordinator for the wedding scene in this years annual fashion show.

A few weeks ago, we were given gorgeous gowns from Dalia’s bridal, in Snyder, NY. These dresses are going to be used in this year’s fashion show, which will be seen by over 1,600 people! I am overjoyed that we get to use these incredible dresses. We got to go through all the dresses and I was able to select an amazing assortment for my scene in the show. Everyone enjoyed looking at all the styles and fabrics used to make all these dresses. We can’t thank Dalia’s enough for giving use these unique gowns.

With the dresses that aren’t going to be used in the wedding scene, our fashion design students will create new designs and pieces. As students just starting out in the fashion design world, these projects are such a great step in the right direction. It allows us to become inspired and create new, never before seen items and collections. The opportunities this company has given us is such an honor and we can’t wait for you all to see what we have in store for you on April 29th.

Stay tuned for recreated items and pictures from the wedding scene in April!Kourtney Shearer

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The fashion program is gearing up for the upcoming fashion show, Fashion is… on April 30th and we would like to showcase what individuals who are not in the fashion program think fashion is. I asked people what they thought fashion is and these were their responses:

Fashion is personality. A portrayal of a person even if you conform or stand out. It describes how you feel and how you choose to present yourself. -Olivia B.

Fashion is personality. -Annie H.

Fashion is clothing, but an extravagant piece or garment. It is not something you see everyday. Fashion is a statement piece. -Jovany J.

Fashion is expression. -Evie C.

Fashion is interpretive. -Bridget C.

Fashion is crocs, sweatpants, and some Bills gear. – Corey L.

Fashion is a person’s thought shown through material. -Grace K.

Fashion is culture. -Monica V.

Fashion is the way you dress yourself and how you present yourself. -Payton C.

Check back in the following weeks to see more updates on the fashion show and to see the unique definitions of what fashion is.